The Old Fort is positioned to take advantage of one of the finest dining vistas on the Island, perhaps only rivalled by the Little Gloster and Ventnor’s Spyglass. On those balmy summer Seaview nights when the sea breeze allows it, you can sit right on the seawall and stare in... Read more

Last summer we had a superlative supper at the Waxworks in Brading. Our five star review gushed about soft meaty slabs of succulent bacon loin, the playful juxtaposition of ingredients and artfully casual service. To our incredulity, the day after our review was published the restaurant closed. When we saw... Read more

Winter draws on, as they say. Back in the distant past, the Isle of Wight practically rolled up the pavements in autumn. The holiday season was bookended by Easter and October half-term; outside of these months was the hinter-winterland of grey skies and a sluggish anticipation of the return... Read more

In October, chocolate chainstore Thornton’s announced that it was closing its last branch on the Isle of Wight. When we heard the news our minds once again turned to what the Island has rather than has not. As one by one the national stores withdraw their branches, local independent... Read more

Sometimes the thing you fancy is a decent fry-up, and nothing else will do. Well, if you’re Matt that is. Cat can normally make do with some eggs and mushrooms on toast, so long as there’s some coffee involved too. And in search of these things we found ourselves... Read more

Sometimes, you pass a stranger in the street and do a double take. “Was that… it couldn’t be. Or is it? It is!” The stranger turns out to be someone you once knew, and underneath the new hairstyle, new spouse, new wrinkles or whatever, it’s the same old friend.... Read more

It’s a part of our lives that we all come to understand. The beloved friend or family member is taken ill, maybe rallies a few times, but over time begins to weaken, fade, and eventually is laid to rest. So it is with big seaside hotels. In the middle... Read more

The English breakfast may be the true legacy to the world of this country’s cuisine. Yes, there are English muffins, creme anglaise, and of course English breakfast tea. But the only dish that needs no specific description is the eponymous Full English. It’s a meal that is widely available... Read more

A pensioner, a teenager and a toddler walk into a pub and demand lunch. As much as this may sound like the beginning of a joke it is, in fact, a scenario played out every Sunday at Ryde’s Ponda Rosa. And, unlike some venues which choose to make things... Read more

Archive review: this pop-up is now closed. Street food, the sort of nosh that you buy from a hatch in a wagon, is so popular that now they’re opening restaurants dedicated to it. No, seriously. And, to prove that it’s not all fuddy-duddies in faded red trews, the poshest... Read more